USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

[sticky] Write-Ins

alessandriana — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:36:17 +0000

Bring your laptops and notebooks and get some wordcount on!

(Dates and Times are still subject to change. Please let me know if any of these times don't work for you, and we'll see what we can work out.)

* Monday, Nov. 2nd 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Caribou Coffee, 110 W Franklin St

* I will be out of town the weekend of the 7th-8th, so there will be no official write-ins then, but if anyone wants to have their own, feel free to set it up!

* Wednesday, Nov 11th, 6:00-8:30
Caribou Coffee, 110 W Franklin St

* Saturday, Nov. 14th 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Panera Bread, 213 W Franklin St

* Wed., Nov. 18th, 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Caribou Coffee, 110 W Franklin St

* Saturday, Nov. 21st, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Panera Bread, 213 W Franklin St

* Monday, Nov. 23rd, 6:00-9:30 p.m.
Caribou Coffee, 110 W Franklin St

* No write-in on the 25th, I'm afraid, since that's the day before Thanksgiving!

* Monday, Nov. 30th, 6:00-10:30 p.m.
Caribou Coffee, 110 W Franklin St

Creating your own Write-Ins:

If you can't make it to any of the write-ins, please feel free to create your own whenever it's convenient for you. Just announce the date and location on the forum, or in an email to me, and if you give me enough notice I'll be sure to include it in the next email that goes out. (If possible, please don't create a write-in on the same day, time, and general location of a write-in that's already on the calendar. Don't force your dazed fellow writers to choose!)
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USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

Our wordcount tops TWO million!

alessandriana — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:24:20 +0000

This is AWESOME, you guyz. Let's see if we can hit 2.5 million by the end of the month!
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USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

today's write-in (saturday 11/21)

alessandriana — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:44:14 +0000

If anyone's coming to the write-in today, just, FYI, I'm going to be an hour late-- I missed my bus. (arrgh!) But stick around, and I'll be there.
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USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

50,000

alessandriana — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:04:40 +0000

I know a few of y'all have hit it already (you crazy insane people, you!), so-- post here when you hit 50,000! Let us all celebrate with you!
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USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

Writers of Chapel Hill, Unite!

Puey — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:40:18 +0000

Hello, everyone. As some of you may know my name is James, and I'm an alcoholic. Oh, wait. Wrong group. Let me change hats.

Hello, everyone. I'm here to invite you to a permanent writing group. About two years ago a bunch of very creative people and I (I don't know how I got roped into this. I was just standing around, minding mine own business, eating chocolate) decided to form a local writing workshop. We meet every Monday night and take turns reading from our masterpeices and critiqueing them. Is that how to spell critique? I have no idea how to spell. Anyway, we'll be meeting this coming Monday at:

Caribou Coffee
1408 E Franklin St
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
(919) 968-3735

We usually gather around 6:15 or so and leave around 8:30. Sometimes we get kicked out of course, we writers can be quite rambunctious in our critiqueing. critiquing. critiking. For those of us without chariots or horseless carriages there will be several buses that pass by Caribou before 6 -- the F, D, and CL line, plus the F and D buses stop by again around 8:10 and head back to campus. We write lots of different types of stories -- fantasy, memoir, science-fiction, stuff with ninja pirate zombies, all the normal stuff.

We have a meet-up page here:

http://www.meetup.com/Chapel-Hill-Writing-Workshop/?a=wm1_gn

I hope to see some of you there. Now, everyone, write! Write! Write like the wind! I myself have this idea about an obsessed captain searching for some sort of gigantic white whale. I have the feeling that no one's written this tale before.

James McCleary

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USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

Our word count tops 1 MILLION!

FunkyShaman — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:01:47 +0000

Hey did anyone else notice that our region's (Chapel Hill's) total word count capped a million today?!?!? When I saw it a few minutes ago it was at 1,061,724!

We rock!
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Every jumbled pile of person has a thinking part that wonders what the part that isn't thinking isn't thinking of! -TMBG

USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

Computer Death!

VelvetFascism — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:59:07 +0000

On Monday, November 2nd, I spilled a glass of water on my IBM laptop, which had served me faithfully for 6 years. My NaNoWriMo ended before it even began!

Gone are my plot notes and character sketches! Gone is my trusty computer, and my ability to check my word count every six minutes. Gone is my ability to upload my progress here.

Curse my clumsiness!
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USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

All my local writing buddies quit. :-\

residentgeek — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:08:04 +0000

I can't make the Write-Ins thanks to work schedule, and I'm now behind the curve.

I do, however, have the idea still in mind, and a quadruple-digit word count.

Is anyone here up for doing a NaNoWriLunch between 1 and 2 at Carrboro's Looking Glass (near Town Hall, next to Cycle 9)? I'm at work for 12 hours a shift on M, W, and F, and have been trying to write during lunch to mitigate the fact that I have no time to write.
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Etsi provectus in sententiis sis
Esse parvulus in spiritus debes

USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

Article in the Daily Tar Heel

alessandriana — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:51:01 +0000

We got a write-up in the Daily Tar Heel, UNC's student newspaper. :D

Does anyone have a copy or two lurking around? It was in the 10/30 paper, and I didn't get a chance to see it in print. :(

http://dailytarheel.com/content/national-novel-writing-month-attracts-ma...

Quote:

Senior Karen Bernstein has written four novels — and on Sunday, she’ll begin work on her fifth.

And she plans to finish it by the end of the month.

Bernstein is a participant in National Novel Writing Month, an annual event in which participants work to write 50,000 words, or 175 pages, in one month.

Writers begin Sunday and submit their work to a system that checks solely for quantity, not quality, by midnight on Nov. 30.

A kick-off party will be held Friday at the Franklin Street Caribou Coffee for the roughly 70 local writers currently signed up. The group will also meet on Wednesdays and Saturdays during the writing process.

The event has no individual winner. Anyone who registers and meets the word count by the end time “wins.” In 2008, more than 119,000 people from around the world participated. Only about 18 percent finished.

Bernstein said that being a creative writing minor draws her to the competition.

“It’s always really fun to have one thing that I know is not going to be graded. That’s one of the reasons I keep doing it,” she said.

The competition also relieves pressure for writers who are struggling with plot structure, Bernstein said.

“It doesn’t have to be a continuous plot,” she said. “So I write what I want to write. And sometimes that means I don’t finish themes and don’t finish conversations, and I go back in December and fill in the holes.”

Celeste Mitchell, a graduate student in the School of Information and Library Science, organizes events for local participants.

“Having it as a social activity really helps people get the word count up. Peer pressure forces them to work,” she said.

Mitchell will begin work on her third novel during November. But instead of starting on Sunday, she’ll wait until she turns in her master’s paper Tuesday to take on the challenge.

“It’s pretty intense. You have to write about 1,667 words a day, which, for me, takes about two hours,” she said. “So long as you’re disciplined and actually spend the time on it, you can do it. And it’s not particularly difficult. You just have to stick with it.”

For Mitchell, who describes herself as a “professional procrastinator,” the contest is motivation to stick to a schedule.

“You get this really big adrenaline rush throughout the whole month, and having 175 pages of words that you didn’t have before is pretty cool,” she said. “That’s what keeps me coming back.”

While neither Mitchell nor Bernstein have approached publishers regarding their products, in the 10 years since the event started, about 30 past participants have had their work published, Mitchell said.

But Mitchell said even if a participant’s work is never read, let alone finished, National Novel Writing Month allows the opportunity to work toward finishing a goal.

“Even if you don’t win, it’s still a really great experience because you still have more of a novel than you did at the beginning of the month,” she said. “Getting anything written is good.”

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USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

'Twas the Night Before NaNo

alessandriana — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:38:14 +0000

'Twas the night before NaNo, when all through the house
Not a keyboard was typing, not a click of a mouse.
The stickers were hung by the writer with care,
In Hopes that a Novel, soon would be there.

The Editors were nestled, all snug in their beds,
While visions of red pens, danced in their heads.
with Chris Baty in his viking hat and I in my shirt,
All the wrimo's world wide, sat waiting to work.

When out on the lawn, there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my writing spot, to see what was the matter.
Away to the window, I flew like a flash,
Tore open the window, threw up the sash.

The moon was big, with a very bright glow
and it looked like a screen that had something to show.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a story and eight characters.

With a little plot arc, so lively and round,
I knew in a moment, "My Novel - I've found!"
More rapid then eagles the chapters they came
and the story whistled and shouted and called things by name,

"Now characters, Now plot arcs, now storylines and more,
"On conflict, On turmoil, On plot twists galore.
To the top of the plot line, to November's 50 K
Now write away, write away, write away today."

As dead words before the wild month fly,
When they meet with a Muse and mount to the sky
So up to my desk top these coursers, they flew
with a sleigh full of ideas, and my muse too.

And then in a twinkling I heard on my desk
The smattering of words, taking one last rest.
As I drew in my hand and was turning around
Appeared, did my muse, in one single bound.

It was dressed in all words, from it's head to it's foot
and it's clothes were all tarnished with erasure gook.
It's bundle of stories were flung on it's back
And it looked like Chris Baty - What's up with that?

It's eyes how they shimmered, It's dimples how scary,
It's cheeks were all blustery, it's smile so merry.
It's droll little mouth was drawn up like an "oh"
And not a beard on it's chin, that'd be freaky, ya know?

The stump of a pencil it held tight in it's teeth,
And punctuation encircled it it's head like a wreath.
It had a bright face and a round cuppa coffee
That shook when it laughed, without ever sloshing.

It was awkward and lumpy, a right crazy old elf
And I laughed when I saw it, inspite of myself.
A wink of Its eye and a twist of Its head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

It spoke not a word, but went straight to my desk
And It looked at my blank page then said, "Surely you Jest."
Laying its fingers aside of my keys, It winked at me once,
And slid inward with ease.

It sprang on my screen, to the words it gave whistle
and away they all flew to it, like the down of a thistle
But I heard it exclaim, err it faded into the night
"Happy NaNo to all, tonight you shall write!"

- C.A. Dubois October 31, 2009
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USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

Welcome + Introduce Yourself!

alessandriana — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 03:34:07 +0000

Welcome to one and all, new and old! I'm Celeste, your friendly neighborhood Municipal Liaison (ML), and I'm so glad you've decided to join us this year.

As an ML, I'm here to answer your questions, organize the Kick-Off/Meet-Ups/Write-Ins/TGIO party, and make sure November runs smoothly for everyone, so please feel free to contact me at any time-- I can be reached through the 'Send NaNoMail' link on my profile.

To get things started, let's introduce ourselves! Answer the following questions, or feel free to improvise your own:

1. Who are you?

2. Where are you?

3. Have you ever done NaNoWriMo before?

4. If not, what made you want to join? If yes, did you win, and what on earth made you want to come back?

5. Describe your novel! If you have an idea yet, that is. If not, then tell us what your favorite genre of book is!

As for me:

1. I'm Celeste, as I already mentioned. :) I'm a grad student in Library Science at UNC, currently scheduled to graduate in December with my Master's-- which means that in addition to writing 50,000 words, I'll be writing my master's paper! Wish me luck!

2. I'm in Carrboro, but I can frequently be spotted in the SILS library on campus or on Franklin Street.

3. Twice, in 2007 and 2008.

4. I made it to 50k both years. It's an INCREDIBLE rush, knowing that you have a book in you-- now that I've started, I don't think I'll ever be able to stop!

5. Currently I've got two ideas struggling for dominance, so I really don't know yet. About all I can say at this point is that it's going to be urban fantasy. Possibly there will be leprechauns.
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USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

Technological difficulties?

opal.emeraldcat — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:23:20 +0000

I know it's the excuse for everything, but is it why Nano won't show our average/total word count(s)? I'm curious to see them. Also, aren't there more than 98 people in this region? Why does the Regional Info part say that's all?

Is there a place for correct statistics?
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~opal~enigma~emeraldcat~
"Her voice was soulfully sweet and raw, as though marinated in sorrow." ~The Lorelei Initiative

USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

Youth Write-ins? Maybe?

LuckyNote — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:50:03 +0000

Are there any teenaged writers in Chapel Hill who are interested in youth write-ins, or would like to help me figure out some sort of buddy system in order to go to other write-ins?

I saw a few people in the 'welcome and introduce yourself' thread who appear to be in the same not-yet-out-of-their-parent's-hair age group as I am, so I figured I'd ask about it. I would honestly love to gather with the older writers in this group, and would love to learn from you all. However, as supportive as my parents are about my interest in the arts, they would probably object to me going to a coffee shop, let alone go to anyone's house, with only people who are college age and above, especially since they probably don't know any of you. I highly doubt that my parents are unique in this respect.

That being said, I personally won't be available until mid-November anyway, with Agnes Scott/Wooster/NC State application deadlines fast approaching, but I could (maybe) host some youth write-ins, after the 15th, if anyone is interested. I have a good comfy living room (plus 3 or 4 bean bag chairs I could add if needed) with good internet connection, not to mention a large coffee maker and a new milk frother that is suffering from lack of use.

I also have an idea: for the youth in this forum to babysit for the writers with children, in return for reduced pay or help with their own novel. Just putting that out there. I could use cash and help with my novel, and I thought that, if any of the writers in the area have children, they could use cheap baby-sitters and some time alone.

Sorry this is so long-winded. Please tell me what you think!
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NaNoWriMo 2009: Start Signals

USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

Impromptu UNC Write-Ins

swimmiegirl89 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:53:01 +0000

I hope that it's okay for me to be posting this here!

I'm a student at UNC Chapel Hill, and my classes are kind of late and demanding, so making write-ins will be pretty hard for me. However, I adore write-ins and don't want to miss the action altogether, so I figured that it might be fun to have people over at my apartment.

I have an apartment in Carrboro, about ten minutes away from campus. The CPX, CM, and CW buslines stop right near my apartment complex. It's called The Crest, but used to be called Ramsgate Dominion, which is what the stop will show up as on chtransit.org. It's right off of Highway 54, and also right off of Old Fayetteville Road, and has public parking.

I'd definitely want to aim these write-ins toward students since the people that I actually know that will be there are students, but everyone is welcome. I don't get out of class until 5:50pm, and don't get home until around 6:30pm, so these would be nighttime write-ins. If there's any particular time that works best for everyone, I'll modify it. If the people who come could bring some kind of snack, that would be great, too!

If you're interested, please post here or send me a NaNoMail, and we'll work out the details. :D

- Tiffari
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"Time...line? Time is not made out of lines! It is made out of circles! That is why clocks are round."
- Caboose, Red vs. Blue

USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

New participant

Greta44 — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:01:10 +0000

Hi, I live in Chatham County and this is the first time I've participated in this event. I'm a member of the NC Writers Network and the Chatham County Writers Morning Out group.

I'm doing this b/c I love a challenge!
Greta James
www.gretajames.blogspot.com
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Greta

USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

KICK-OFF PARTY!

alessandriana — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:43:54 +0000

The Kick-Off Party will be held on Friday, October 30th at 6:30 p.m, at the Caribou Coffee at 110 W Franklin St. I'll be the one wearing the NaNoWriMo 2009 t-shirt and bearing goodie bags!

Hope to see you all there!
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USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

First email, in case you missed it.

alessandriana — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:39:59 +0000

Hey everyone!

Well, it's that time of year again-- NaNoWriMo is just around the corner! I hope everyone had a great off-season, and that you're ready and raring to go on this great noveling adventure.

First off, I'd like to take a moment to introduce myself-- I'm Celeste, your friendly neighborhood Municipal Liaison. As an ML, I'm here to answer your questions, organize the Kick-Off/Meet-Ups/Write-Ins/TGIO party, and make sure November runs smoothly for everyone, so please feel free to contact me at any time-- I can be reached through the 'Send NaNoMail' link on my profile.

I'd also like to welcome any new Wrimos joining us this year-- which, according to our forum stats, is 25% of you! You're in for an amazing ride. There'll be laughter, tears, frustration and utter elation, and in the end you'll have something truly amazing-- your very own novel. It's an incredible feeling. And for those of you who are second- or third- or eighth time Wrimos, welcome back!

-----

Now, for some scheduling miscellany:

Kick-Off Party!

The Kick-Off Party will be held on Friday, October 30th at 6:30 p.m (location TBD-- if you've got any suggestions, I'd love to hear them). There will be stickers and prizes and other goodies, so come on out and meet your fellow Wrimos!

Chat Room Meetup

I know Halloween is a pretty big deal in Chapel Hill, but if you get back to your computers by midnight that night and want to get a head start on your novel, or if you can't make it to the meet on the 30th, join us from 11:30 p.m. - 2 a.m. in the Chapel Hill NaNoWriMo chat room (http://ncarolina.chatnano.net/ChapelHill/index.html) for an "OMG It's Time To Start Writing!!1!1" party.

Write-Ins

The first official write-in will be 4 p.m. Monday, November 2nd at Caribou Coffee on 110 W Franklin St. Bring your laptops/notebooks and be prepared to get some serious word-count action on! I'll snag some tables and bring along a power strip or two.

Past that, write-in dates/times are still up in the air, but I'm thinking bi-weekly write-ins in the afternoons on Wednesdays and Saturdays sound good, so as to accommodate the most amount of people. Let me know if this works for y'all.

And of course, you're all welcome to schedule your own write-ins-- just post when/where on the forums, and if you give me enough advance notice, I'll post it to the Calendar and include it in the weekly emails.

-----

Well, that's it for the scheduling info! Just a few more things:

Please make sure you've set Chapel Hill as your "Home Region" on the website-- this is so all the word count/donation statistics stay accurate, and to make sure that you receive the regional emails. You can do this by going to the My Regions section on your profile; click on the Home Regions tab and select Chapel Hill.

You'll also notice a widget in the upper right-hand corner of the forum-- that's our calendar. Make sure to keep checking back; that's the main place I'll be posting scheduling information about meet-ups and write-ins.

And finally, don't forget to consider donating. Our heroes at the Office of Letters and Light do an awesome job of producing NaNoWriMo on a shoestring budget, and every penny helps. Visit NaNoWriMo’s Donation Station (https://store.lettersandlight.org/), or, if you’re short on change, check out the Donating When You're Broke (http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/donatingwhenbroke) page. Every little bit helps the Office of Letters and Light continue to make noveling dreams come true!

Looking forward to a crazily amazing November,

Celeste

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USA :: North Carolina :: Chapel Hill

Meet-ups?

Dragonwings — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:38:34 +0000

Hey, I was wondering what day or days our meet-ups would be. Just because I'll need to ask for those days off in advance. Thanks!
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